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Expected Release Date: June 15th
Oscar Peterson’s Legendary Trio
Our new eight-CD box set — “The Classic Oscar Peterson Trio Sessions with Ray Brown and Ed Thigpen” — is a first-ever collection bringing all this music from three labels Verve, Limelight and MPS, together in one package. Includes all studio sessions recorded by this trio but for the 9 Songbook albums recorded in the Summer of 1959.
Due to dramatic improvements in analog-to-digital converters and our mastering process, we believe this set will be viewed as the most sonically faithful presentation of Peterson’s extraordinary musical output of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Our goal was to highlight the fine details, beauty, and unique sound inherent in his extraordinary output. This mastering process utilized hi-res 24-bit/192 kHz transfers from the original analog master tapes. The only exception is the MPS recordings, “The Lost Tapes” where the analog tapes were never found.
Our collector’s edition box set includes a deluxe booklet including a complete discography of these sessions, many rare photographs from Peterson’s career with Thigpen and Brown, and a detailed historical and track-by-track analysis by noted jazz writer and critic Bob Blumenthal.
…“What strikes me now… is the integration they’ve achieved among themselves. My approach was to let Peterson predominate…I see now what was uppermost in Peterson’s mind [was] to have genuine interplay among three musicians, each one making an equal contribution…Another difference is in the tune selection…I also see now that Peterson properly displays his jazz feeling within a framework of his enormous technique, properly harnessed.”
– Norman Granz, original liner notes
A Pioneer of Melodic Innovation
A Jazz Master in Perfect Trio Interplay
In his day, Oscar Peterson was widely acknowledged by fans and music publications to be the best pianist in jazz. He won eight Grammy Awards including a lifetime achievement award. Downbeat Magazine named him Pianist of the Year for 13 straight years. He received a slew of awards from the Canadian authorities in arts and in government. And you would need to speak many languages to translate all the speeches given to honor him around the world.
Toward the end of the 1950s and into the ‘60s, when the recordings in our new collection were made, he had matured into a leader with more polish, capable of greater structural sophistication and nuanced accompaniment who could dazzle but also snuggle into a ballad where each note gets its own caress. It’s no wonder he opened so many ears to the delights of jazz.
But the set goes even further than that. These recordings don’t just showcase Peterson’s talent. They are a dazzling display of the essence of a piano-bass-drums jazz trio that played effortlessly in sync, a showcase for three musicians who achieved an extraordinary balance between virtuosity and heart.
His Trio Evolves
As a leader, his setting was originally a piano-bass duo, but he expanded to a trio by initially adding guitarists. Toward the end of the 1950s, when guitarist Herb Ellis left, Peterson decided to not replace him, but instead to turn it into a piano-bass-drums unit. He was playing larger halls, and he needed more volume.
He chose Ed Thigpen. Oscar Peterson, Ray Brown, and Ed Thigpen became one of the most cohesive, intuitive, and musically interdependent units in all of jazz. Years later, Ed Thigpen described the group’s attitude. “We had a philosophy that we were going to play so good every night that even on a bad night we’d be head and shoulders above everyone else,” he told an interviewer. Ray Brown — who stayed with Peterson for 15 years — praised the pianist’s dedication and his penchant for throwing his fellow musicians curveballs. ”If you’re not good enough to handle that, you shouldn’t be playing with Oscar anyway,” he said.
Peterson was equally effusive about his bass player and drummer. They possessed the musical versatility to move with him no matter what direction he chose, and enhance any statement he made. “In short,” he said, “they practiced all the possibilities.”
Oscar Peterson’s penchant for “re-composing” favorite tunes by adding time changes, rapidly switching mid-song into different modes and genres, and in many other ways re-harmonizing melodies, meant his collaborators needed to be flexible, nimble, and constantly alert. Comping behind a solo meant being attuned on a whole other level.
125 Performances of Endless Invention
Newly Remastered
There is so much to listen to in these dates. Peterson didn’t just play chords and solo over them. He played the song, building solos with unparalleled coherence and the drive to tell a story. His rendition of the Dizzy Gillespie classic “Woody ’N’ You” should dispel any notion that any bebopper could beat him at spontaneous creation. His rendition of “You Make Me Feel Do Young” is as youthful and jaunty as the title promises. There’s a cheer to “Three O’Clock In the Morning” that can only be envisioned by someone still awake and partying at that hour. And on his recording of “This Nearly Was Mine” from South Pacific, his solo is wistful and nostalgic, played with a light touch as if he were treading lightly over precious memories. On Basie’s “Shiny Stockings” or Ellington’s “Satin Doll” and “C Jam Blues,” he proves he can make any song his own.
Peterson’s version of the music from “Porgy and Bess” is a great example of his approach to songs. Each song is presented in a style that matches its story, even without lyrics. “I’ve Got Plenty of Nothing,” jaunty and whimsical. “I Wants To Stay Here,” simple and plaintive. “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” coy and seductive. On “Summertime,” he states from the first few notes that while you may have heard the song thousands of times, you’ve never heard it like this.
The set includes music from “The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson,” widely considered among Peterson’s best, and “Night Train,” regarded as the finest album Peterson made with this trio. They are two of Peterson’s most popular albums out of the more than 200 he recorded (some estimates, counting reissues and compilations, put then number closer to 400). Also included are his tribute album to Frank Sinatra, the music from his Broadway concept albums of “Porgy and Bess,” “West Side Story,” and “Fiorello!” His album dedicated to originals, “Canadiana Suite,” caught listeners by surprise because of the focus on originals.
Among the 125 selections are the first appearance of “Gravy Waltz,”, and his “The Prayer (A Jazz Hymn),” a musical prayer for freedom and peace. It became an unofficial song of the civil rights movement in the 1960s. The list includes many songs that were already popular when he recorded them, and are still popular today. Guaranteed Peterson’s versions will be crisp, unexpected, and creatively satisfying.
For this Mosaic Records release Swan Studios’ work as reissue mastering engineers focused on addressing the significant sonic inconsistencies and technical limitations present in the original recordings. The sessions spanned a broad range of recording approaches and production aesthetics, resulting in considerable variation in tonal balance, imaging, and overall fidelity from album to album.
A prime example is Night Train, which suffered from pronounced phase anomalies in the original master. Through careful restoration and mastering techniques, they substantially reduced these issues, recovering clarity, focus, and instrumental definition that previous releases had long obscured. Throughout the collection, the goal was not to alter the character of the original recordings, but rather to reveal the musicality and nuance captured on tape while creating a more cohesive listening experience across the entire Mosaic set.
A master of technique. Possessor of an enormous soul. And a pioneer of melodic innovation. Hear the full flowering of Oscar Peterson’s contributions with this stunning trio. But act fast. As with all our Mosaic collections, our release is strictly limited and this music will not be re-released in this form ever again. We urge you to order yours soon.
Audio Clips
West Side Story
Tonight
After a September studio album with guest Milt Jackson, the celebrated Very Tall, another favored strategy produced the Peterson Trio’s greatest interpretation of a theatrical score. Leonard Bernstein’s music had generated renewed attention when the Oscar-winning film West Side Story was released in 1961, and the trio’s version is the gold standard in the jazz-plays-Broadway category. The arrangements, immaculate execution and improvisational strength enhance and refresh the songs, revealing new potentials in what had quickly become very familiar material.
An evolving conversation between Peterson and his mates open “Tonight” before the trio swings together at medium tempo. This is a great track to appreciate Thigpen, whose unshakable beat and subtle commentary, like Connie Kay’s in the Modern Jazz Quartet, bore the consequence of being overlooked when critics and polls took the measure of contemporary jazz percussion.
Canadiana Suite
Wheatland
Composing had not previously been part of Oscar Peterson’s profile, which must have made the appearance of Canadiana Suite particularly surprising to his fans. Determined to celebrate his homeland, he spent a year composing the movements, and began performing the entire suite several months before the recording, “to hear the different reactions and feelings that Ray and Ed and I get each time we do it,” as he told Gene Lees. The success of the recording, another of the trio’s best, inspired additional writing over the course of Peterson’s career, with movie soundtracks and orchestral efforts, including a second suite focused on Canada with arrangements by Michel Legrand. This initial effort remains the best of the lot.
On a separate recording Peterson based “Hymn to the East” on impressions drawn from paintings and photographs. “I saw it in my mind in terms of the color blue,” he told Lees, although the resulting ballad is more gentle than earthy. The rolling bass figure and dynamic restraint generates a simpler feeling, with Brown preceding the pianist in the solo order. A different foundation underscores the flatter landscape and gentler breezes of “Wheatland. This is the suite’s strongest melody, and it inspires lyric responses from both pianist and bassist.
Porgy and Bess
It Ain’t Necessarily So
The Peterson Trio’s version of the Gershwin classic was made in one session, far from the laborious process Miles Davis and Gil Evans had undertaken the previous year in their reimagination of the score. The release of the film version of Porgy and Bess at the time generated even more interest among jazz musicians. It is notably Peterson’s second all-Gershwin recitals in three months, and the first of two in which the trio addresses an American composer’s greatest theatrical achievement.
The tempo on “It Ain’t Necessarily So” is restrained, as if the lessons contained in the song’s unheard lyrics needed to be contemplated. Even when the arranged support gives way to a steadier swing, the mood is never abandoned. The performance seems headed for a fade; but as was most often the case, the trio rejects such an easy out and creates its own soft landing.
The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson
Woody ‘n’ You
In the midst of the marathon sessions in which the new songbooks were recorded, the trio cut enough tracks to make up a single LP that gave a sense of how they sounded in person. What resulted was one of the greatest Peterson albums.
“Woody ‘n’ You” is presented with opening rumbles, a tight opening chorus and an initial blowing frame including arranged riffs. When bass and drums kick in and Peterson establishes his flow, Lees’ notion of Peterson’s will to swing becomes audible. There are more ensemble figures, more dynamic shifts and a growing sense of urgency, capped by a “Fascinatin’ Rhythm” allusion on the final bridge.
In 1995, this CD released by Verve/MPS with a dozen previously unheard titles by pianist Oscar Peterson from his famed “Exclusively for My Friends” private party performances between 1965–1968 in producer Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer’s private studio in Germany. Peterson is heard on four songs with bassist Ray Brown and drummer Ed Thigpen in what turned out to be the trio’s most productive MPS session.
This is a different conception of “Gravy Waltz,” one introduced by rumbling figures in Peterson’s left hand and a hard driving tempo. Familiarity will often breed faster tempos as bands repeat their hits, although this was less frequently the case with the trio. Perhaps a growing comfort with playing in three led to this spirited reinterpretation.
“Three O’Clock in the Morning” reaches way back in Peterson’s recording history, to his initial 1950 duo session with Brown. The rollicking interpretation includes stunning locked hands passages from the pianist, Brown choruses in which piano first sets up and then converses with the bassist, with a similar if briefer round of piano-drum exchanges inserted. Spirits were clearly soaring on what was one of the trio’s most intense performances.
Peterson’s “Squeaky’s Blues” had been introduced on the recording with Clark Terry. Launched directly after “Three O’Clock” ends, it increases the tempo and includes great responses from Thigpen behind the piano solo. Peterson, at his best throughout this session, sounds unstoppable in his choruses, somehow managing to give the sense of throwing caution to the winds without losing his instinct for pacing.
“Tenderly,” the piece that introduced Peterson to many listeners in 1950, begins with two choruses of unaccompanied piano. The pacing and harmonic invention is tender yet intense. When the rhythm section enters, Peterson finds additional ways to enhance the familiar changes, pushing his mates into a more driving approach after a chorus and a half. The coda completes a reflective bracket around this extended performance.
After the passing of Hans Georg Brunner-Schwer, the first of three sessions were discovered paying respects to three of the greatest big bands.
“Goodbye,” Benny Goodman’s closing radio theme, is one of the deepest ballad creations in the American Songbook. Peterson treats it as the majestic harmonic canvas that it is, with an opening unaccompanied chorus that is Chopinesque.
The head-nodding medium-slow swing of Count Basie’s New Testament band was established by “Lil’ Darlin’, and the trio knows just how the Neal Hefti classic is supposed to feel. Sustaining that feeling for nearly ten minutes is a challenge that Peterson meets by asking in effect “what would Basie/Hefti do?” The answer: treat each chorus as if an ensemble riff pattern launched a succession of soloists. Very little shouting is involved.
Also from the ‘50s, Billy Strayhorn’s “Satin Doll” became a trademark Ellington tune with its own more urbane swagger. It completes the emotional trajectory of the session without resorting to fireworks. Another surprise is the return to the bridge for a final half-chorus of blowing before the reprise.
Limited Edition: 2500
(#285-8 CDs)
This set is strictly limited in its release and will someday be unavailable. Please don’t delay in ordering this comprehensive set of some of the music’s most reliably captivating artists.
DISC I
A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra
1. You Make Me Feel So Young (A) 2:40
(M. Gordon – J. Myrow)
2. Come Dance With Me (A) 2:22
(S. Cahn – J. Van Heusen)
3. Learnin’ The Blues (A) 3:40
(Dolores Vicki Silvers)
4. Witchcraft (A) 3:10
(C. Coleman – C. Leigh)
5. (Love Is) The Tender Trap (A) 2:42
(S. Cahn – J. Van Heusen)
6. Saturday Night (Is The Loneliest Night In The Week) (A) 2:56
(S. Cahn – J. Styne)
7. Just In Time (A) 1:53
(Comden – Green –Styne)
8. It Happened In Monterey (A) 2:57
(B. Rose, M. Wayne)
9. I Get A Kick Out Of You (A) 3:03
(Cole Porter)
10. All Of Me (A) 3:25
(S. Simons – G. Marks)
11. Birth Of The Blues (A) 2:38
(Henderson – DeSylva – Brown)
12. How About You (A) 3:13
(R. Freed – B. Lane)
The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson
13. Liza (All the Clouds’ll Roll Away) (B) 4:33
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin)
14. Con Alma (B) 6:59
(Dizzy Gillespie)
15. Close Your Eyes (B) 5:47
(Bernice Petkere)
16. Maidens Of Cadiz (B) 7:44
(Léo Delibes)
17. My Heart Stood Still (B) 5:44
(L. Hart – R. Rodgers)
18. Woody’n You (Woody ’n’ You) (B) 3:49
(Dizzy Gillespie)
DISC II
Porgy and Bess
1. I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ (C) 6:24
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
2. I Wants To Stay Here (C) 6:20
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
3. Summertime (C) 3:51
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
4. Oh, Dey’s So Fresh And Fine (Strawberry Woman) (C) 0:55
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
5. Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way (C) 2:34
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
6. It Ain’t Necessarily So (C) 4:00
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin)
7. There’s A Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon For New York (C) 7:12
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
8. Oh Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess? (C) 4:55
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
9. Here Come De Honey Man (C) 1:08
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
10. Bess, You Is My Woman Now (C) 3:30
(G. Gershwin – I. Gershwin – Heyward)
11. Playboy Peterson (Take 3) 2:17 (C)
(Oscar Peterson)
12. Close Your Eyes 3:51 (C)
(Bernice Petkere)
13. Scarborough Junction 2:41 (C)
(Oscar Peterson)
14. Con Alma (C) 5:48
(Dizzy Gillespie)
15. Blues For Big Scotia 3:14 (C)
(Oscar Peterson)
16. Stockholm Sweetnin’ 1:23 (C)
(Quincy Jones)
17. Cubano Chant 3:28 (C)
(Ray Bryant)
18. Woody ’n’ You 3:05 (C)
(Dizzy Gillespie)
19. Playboy Peterson (Take 1) 2:23 (C)
(Oscar Peterson)
20. Playboy Peterson (Take 7) 2:04 (C)
(Oscar Peterson)
DISC III
Fiorello!
1. When Did I Fall In Love? (D) 4:32
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
2. Little Tin Box (D) 4:13
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
3. Home Again (D) 3:03
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
4. ‘Til Tomorrow (D) 2:42
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
5. Politics And Poker (D) 4:12
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
6. Gentleman Jimmy (D) 3:29
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
7. Unfair (D) 3:54
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
8. On the Side Of The Angels (D) 6:32
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
9. Where Do I Go From Here? (D) 4:23
(S. Harnick – J. Bock)
West Side Story
10. Something’s Coming (E) 3:55
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
11. Somewhere (E) 5:35
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
12. Jet Song (E) 7:46
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
13. Tonight (E) 4:36
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
14. Maria (E) 4:55
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
15. I Feel Pretty (E) 4:29
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
16. Reprise (E) 3:58
(L. Bernstein – S. Sondheim)
DISC IV
Night Train
1. Night Train (G) 4:51
(Forrest – Simpkins – Washington)
2. C Jam Blues (G) 3:25
(B. Bigard – D. Ellington)
3. Georgia On My Mind (G) 3:45
(H. Carmichael – Gorrell)
4. Bags’ Groove (G) 5:44
(Milt Jackson)
5. Moten Swing (G) 2:55
(Bennie Moten)
6. Easy Does It (G) 2:45
(S. Oliver – T. Young)
7. Honey Dripper (The Honeydripper) (G) 2:23
(Joe Liggins)
8. Things Ain’t What They Used To Be (G) 4:38
(M. Ellington – T. Persons)
9. I Got It Bad And That Ain’t Good (G) 5:08
(D. Ellington – P. Webster)
10. Band Call (G) 3:54
(Duke Ellington)
11. Hymn To Freedom (G) 5:35
(Oscar Peterson)
12. Night Train (alt. tk.) (G) 5:00
(Forrest – Simpkins – Washington)
13. Volare (G) 2:49
(Migliacci – Modugno – Parish)
14. My Heart Belongs To Daddy (G) 3:56
(Cole Porter)
15. Moten Swing (alt. tk.)(inc.) (G) 3:35
(Bennie Moten)
16. Now’s The Time (inc.) (G) 2:34
(Charlie Parker)
17. This Could Be The Start Of Something (G) 3:09
(Steve Allen)
18. Night Train Insert (inc.) (G) 1:29
(Forrest – Simpkins – Washington)
19. The Prayer, A Jazz Hymn (Hymn To Freedom) (F) 6:59
(Oscar Peterson)
DISC V
Affinity
1. Waltz For Debbie (Debby) (F) 5:55
(B. Evans – G. Lees)
2. Tangerine (F) 4:32
(J. Mercer – V. Schertzinger)
3. Gravy Waltz (F) 4:27
(S. Allen – R. Brown)
4. This Could Be The Start Of Something (F) 4:45
(Steve Allen)
5. Baubles, Bangles & Beads (F) 4:14
(G. Forrest – R. Wright)
6. Six And Four (F) 7:03
(Oliver Nelson)
7. I’m A Fool To Want You (F) 3:46
(Herron – Sinatra – Wolf)
8. Yours Is My Heart Alone (F) 5:40
(Herzer – Lehár – Löhner – Beda)
The Oscar Peterson Trio Plays
9. The Strut (H) 4:09
(Oscar Peterson)
10. Let’s Fall In Love (H) 5:43
(Arlen – T. Koehler)
11. Satin Doll (H) 5:25
(Ellington – Mercer – Strayhorn)
12. Little Right Foot (H) 4:58
(Traditional)
13. Little (Li’l) Darlin’ (H) 4:21
(Neal Hefti)
14. Fly Me To The Moon (In Other Words) (H) 3:13
(Bart Howard)
15. This Nearly Was Mine (H) 4:20
(O. Hammerstein II – R. Rodgers)
16. Shiny Stockings (H) 2:42
(Frank Foster)
17. You Stepped Out Of A Dream (H) 3:09
(N. Brown – G. Kahn)
DISC VI
Canadiana Suite
1. Ballad To The East (I) 4:07
(Oscar Peterson)
2. Laurentide Waltz (I) 5:21
(Oscar Peterson)
3. Place St. Henri (I) 3:56
(Oscar Peterson)
4. Hogtown Blues (I) 3:42
(Oscar Peterson)
5. Blues Of The Prairies (I) 4:58
(Oscar Peterson)
6. Wheatland (I) 5:30
(Oscar Peterson)
7. March Past (I) 3:25
(Oscar Peterson)
8. Land Of The Misty Giants (I) 4:14
(Oscar Peterson)
We Get Requests
9. Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) (J) 2:51
(A. Jobin – G. Lees)
10. The Days Of Wine and Roses (J) 2:42
(H. Mancini – J. Mercer)
11. My One And Only Love (J) 5:09
(R. Mellin – G. Wood)
12. People (J) 3:33
(B. Merrill – J. Styne)
13. Have You Met Miss Jones? (J) 4:15
(L. Hart – R. Rodgers)
14. You Look Good To Me (J) 4:49
(S. Lefco – C. Wells)
15. The Girl From Ipanema (J) 3:55
(Jobim – de Moraes– Gimbel)
16. D. & E. (J) 5:15
(John Lewis)
17. Time And Again (J) 4:39
(Stuff Smith)
18. Goodbye J.D. (J) 2:58
(Oscar Peterson)
I/We Had a Ball
19. Coney Island, U.S.A. (K) 2:27
(J. Lawrence – S. Freeman)
DISC Vll
Action
1. At Long Last Love (L) 4:58
(Cole Porter)
2. Easy Walker (L) 9:43
(Billy Taylor)
3. Tin Tin Deo (L) 5:34
(P. Gonzales – G. Fuller)
4. I’ve Got A Crush On You (L) 5:16
(George Gershwin)
5. A Foggy Day (L) 4:33
(George Gershwin)
6. Like Someone In Love (L) 11:19
(Jimmy van Heusen)
The Lost Tapes II
7. Goodbye (N) 6:43
(Gordon Jenkins)
8. Li’l Darlin’ (N) 9:42
(Neil Hefti)
9. Satin Doll (N) 7:51
(Strayhorn – Ellington – Mercer)
DISC Vlll
The Lost Tapes I
1. Gravy Waltz (M) 3:19
(Ray Brown)
2. Three O’ Clock In The Morning (M) 8:45
(D. Terris – J. Robledo)
3. Squeaky’s Blues (M) 7:30
(Oscar Peterson)
4. Tenderly (M) 11:07
(J. Lawrence – W. Gross)
The Lost Tapes II
5. Medley (N) 8:31
The Folks Who Live On The Hill
(J. Kern – O. Hammerstein)
Body And Soul
(Heyman – Eyton – Green – Sour)
6. You Took Advantage Of Me (N) 5:11
(R. Rogers – L. Hart)
7. Hymn To Freedom (N) 7:36
(H. Hamilton – O. Peterson)
8. Autumn Leaves (N) 5:06
(Prevert – Mercer – Kosma)
DISCOGRAPHY
(A) A JAZZ PORTRAIT OF FRANK SINATRA
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Paris, France, May 18, 1959
50010-3 You Make Me Feel So Young Verve MGV8334
50011-9 Come Dance With Me –
50011-9 Saturday Night (Is the Loneliest Night In The Week) –
50015-4 The Tender Trap –
50016-2 Learnin’ The Blues –
50017-4 Witchcraft –
50018-4 Just In Time –
50019-8 It Happened In Monterey –
50020-2 I Get A Kick Out Of You –
50021-4 All Of Me –
50022-2 The Birth Of The Blues –
50023-8 How About You –
_____________________________________________________
(B) THE JAZZ SOUL OF OSCAR PETERSON
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Chicago, IL July 21- August 1, 1959
50039-1 Liza (All The Clouds’ll Roll Away) Verve MGV8351
50040-2 Con Alma –
50041-5 Close Your Eyes –
50042-2 Maidens Of Cadiz –
50043-7 My Heart Stood Still –
50044-8 Woody’n You (Woody ’n’ You) –
_____________________________________________________
(C) PORGY AND BESS
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Los Angeles, CA, October 12, 1959
22935-1 Oh Dey’s So Fresh And Fine (Strawberry Woman) Verve MGV8340
22936-1 It Ain’t Necessarily So –
22937-1 I Wants To Stay Here (I Loves You Porgy) –
22938-1 Summertime –
22939-2 Here Come De Honey Man –
22940-2 Bess, You Is My Woman Now –
22941-11 Oh Lawd, I’m On My Way –
22942-6 I Got Plenty O’ Nuttin’ –
22943-2 Bess, Oh Where’s My Bess? –
22944-9 There’s A Boat Dat’s Leavin’ Soon For New York –
22951-3 Scarborough Junction Verve PR 2-3/PRS 2-3
Close Your Eyes Verve 314 547 265-2
Playboy Peterson (Take 3) –
Playboy Peterson (Take 1) Previously Unissued
Playboy Peterson (Take 7) –
Con Alma –
Blues For Big Scotia –
Stockholm Sweetnin’ –
Cubano Chant –
Woody’n You –
(D) FIORELLO!
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Los Angeles, CA, January, 1960
26213 When Did I Fall In Love? Verve MGV8366
26214 Little Tin Box –
26215 Home Again –
26216 ‘Til Tomorrow –
26217 Politics And Poker –
26218 Gentleman Jimmy –
26219 Unfair –
26220 On The Side Of The Angels –
26221 Where Do I Go From Here? –
__________________________________________________________
(E) WEST SIDE STORY
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, January 24 & 25, 1962
62VK246 Something’s Coming Verve V- 8454
62VK247 Somewhere –
62VK248 Jet Song –
62VK249 Tonight –
62VK250 Maria –
62VK251 I Feel Pretty –
62VK252 Reprise –
(G) NIGHT TRAIN
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Los Angeles, CA, December 16, 1962
62VK756-3 Night Train (alt. tk.) Verve 314-521440-2
Night Train Insert (inc.) –
62VK756-3 Night Train Verve V- 8538
62VK757-2 C Jam Blues –
62VK758-1 Georgia On My Mind –
62VK759-3 Bag’s Groove –
62VK760 Moten Swing (alt. tk.)(inc.) Verve 314-521440-2
62VK760-2 Moten Swing Verve V- 8538
62VK761 Easy Does It –
62VK762-4 Honey Dripper (The Honeydripper) –
62VK763-1 Things Ain’t What They Used To Be –
62VK764-1 I Got it Bad And That Ain’t Good –
62VK765-2 Band Call –
62VK766-2 Hymn To Freedom –
62VK783-3 Volare Verve 314-521440-2
62VK784-2 My Heart Belongs To Daddy –
Now’s The Time (inc.) –
This Could Be The Start Of Something –
______________________________________________________
(F) AFFINITY
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Chicago, IL, September 25, 1962
62VK633 Waltz For Debbie (Debby) Verve V- 8516
62VK634 Tangerine –
62VK635 Gravy Waltz –
62VK636 Six And Four –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Chicago, IL, September 26, 1962
62VK637 Yesterdays
62VK638 This Could Be the Start Of Something Big Verve V- 8516
62VK639 Yours Is My Heart Alone –
62VK640 I’m A Fool To Want You –
62VK641 Baubles, Bangles And Beads –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Chicago, IL, September 27, 1962
62VK642 The Prayer, A Jazz Hymn (Hymn To Freedom) Verve 314-547265-2
_________________________________________________________
(H) THE OSCAR PETERSON PLAYS
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, February 27, 1964
62VK261 Fly Me to the Moon Verve V- 8591
62VK262 Shiny Stockings –
62VK263 Little (Li’l) Darlin’ –
62VK264 Little Right Foot –
62VK265 You Stepped Out Of A Dream –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, February 28, 1964
62VK266 Let’s Fall In Love Verve V- 8591
62VK267 The Strut –
62VK268 This Nearly Was Mine –
62VK269 Satin Doll –
_________________________________________________________
(I) CANADIANA SUITE
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, September 9, 1964
2-33854 Ballad To The East Limelight LM82010/LS86010
2-33855 Land Of Misty Giants –
2-33856 Wheatland –
2-33857 Blues Of The Prairies –
2-33858 Laurentide Waltz –
2-33859 March Past –
2-33860 Hogtown Blues –
2-33861 Place St. Henri –
(J) WE GET REQUESTS
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, October 19, 1964
64VK509 The Girl From Ipanema Verve V- 8606
64VK510 Quiet Nights Of Quiet Stars (Corcovado) –
64VK511 Have You Met Miss Jones? –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, October 20, 1964
64VK512 D. & E. Verve V- 8606
64VK513 Time and Again –
64VK514 You Look Good To Me –
64VK515 People –
64VK516 My One And Only Love –
64VK517 The Days Of Wine And Roses –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, November 19, 1964
64VK591 Goodbye J.D. Verve V- 8606
(K) I/WE HAD A BALL
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
New York, NY, May 18, 1965
2-34761 Coney Island, U.S.A. Limelight LM82002/LS86002
(L) ACTION
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Villingen, Germany, March 27, 1963
I’ve Got A Crush On You MPS 15 178 ST
A Foggy Day –
Like Someone In Love –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Villingen, Germany, April 24, 1964
At Long Last Love –
Easy Walker –
Tin Tin Deo –
______________________________________________________
(M) THE LOST TAPES I
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Villingen, Germany, May 10, 1965
Gravy Waltz MPS 529 096 1
Three O’Clock In The Morning –
Squeaky’s Blues –
Tenderly –
(N) THE LOST TAPES II
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Villingen, Germany, November, 1963
Goodbye MPS 4 029759 103257
Lil’ Darlin’ –
Satin Doll –
Oscar Peterson, piano; Ray Brown, bass; Ed Thigpen, drums.
Villingen, Germany, May 10, 1965
Medley MPS 4 029759 103257
The Folks Who Live On The Hill
Body And Soul
You Took Advantage of Me –
Hymn To Freedom –
Oscar Peterson, piano
Villingen, Germany, November 12, 1965
Autumn Leaves –
Album index
LP:
Verve MG V- 8334 A Jazz Portrait of Frank Sinatra
Verve MG V- 8351 The Jazz Soul of Oscar Peterson
Verve MG V- 8340 Porgy and Bess
Verve MG V- 8366 Fiorello!
Verve V/V6- 8454 West Side Story
Verve V/V6- 8516 Affinity
Verve V/V6- 8538 Night Train
Verve V/V6- 8591 The Oscar Peterson Trio Plays
Limelight LM 82010/LS 86010 Canadiana Suite
Verve V/V6-8606 We Get Requests
Limelight LS 86002 I/We Had a Ball
MPS Records 15 178 ST Action
MPS Records 529 096 1 The Lost Tapes
Verve PR 2-3 The Greatest Names in Jazz
CD:
Verve 314 521 440-2 Night Train
Verve 314 547 265-2 Collectors’ Disc
MPS 4 029759 103257 Exclusively For My Friends
Produced for release by David Weiss and John Koenig
Executive Producers: Fred Pustay and Scott Wenzel
Original sessions produced by Norman Granz (A-D, F), Jim Davis (E,G,H,J) and Christian Kellersmann and Jörg Eipasch (M)
Mastered from hi-res files of the original analog masters by Andreas K. Meyer and Shane Carroll at Swan Studios, NYC www.swanstudios.nyc except:
This Could Be the Start of Something from “Night Train” (CD 4 Track 17) (mastered from 1630 U-Matic tape, analog master tape missing)
24-bit technology was utilized at all stages of the production of this Mosaic release.
Special Thanks to Richard Seidel, Jerry Stine and Scott Ravine
Design Production: Beth and Philip Gruber
Producer’s note:
The bonus track from “Affinity”, The Prayer (Jazz Hymn) (Hymn to Freedom) was placed at the end of the “Night Train” CD (CD 4) for space considerations.
Additionally, the CD sequencing of the Verve material was taken slightly out of chronological order (“Night Train” appears before “Affinity”) for space considerations.
The newly discovered bonus tracks from the “Porgy and Bess” sessions, Woody ’n’ You, Cubano Chant and Stockholm Sweetenin’ are mono recordings. The stereo recording of Stockholm Sweetenin’ was cut off and incomplete and there were no stereo versions of Woody ’n’ You and Cubano Chant found in the vaults.
Maurice Smallwood –
Based on the recording samples provided here, the CD set sounds like it is going to be great. Purchasing it now.
Rob M –
Giving 3 star reviews before the actual release is in your hands is a bit petty, IMO. So here’s a 5 star to balance it out.
I’m sure I won’t be disappointed.
Anonymous –
I just realized that you got me on Ballad (not Hymn) To The East, too. Drat!
Ted O’Reilly –
I guess I’m reviewing your teaser, and not the release, but: I’m confused by the Canadiana Suite section. The composition is “Wheatland” (no ‘s’), and the way you’ve edited the remarks is confusing, tossing in the Hymn To The East reference when the selection is Wheatland.